Game apparatus.



' 'No. 728,317. PATENTED MAY 19, 19.03.

- c. 0. SOBINSKL.

GAME APPARATUS. APPLI OATI ION FILED OUT. 15, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SEEM 1 I0 IODEL.

. INVENTOH A TTUHNEY UNITED STATES Patented May 19, 1903.

PATE T OFFICE.

CHARLES O. SOBINSKI, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

" *G'AME APPARATUS) SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters PatentNo. 728,317, "dated May 19, 1903. Application filed October 15, 1902. Serial No. 127,368. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES O. SOBINSKI,

a citizen of the United States, residing at St.-

My invention has relation to improvements in game apparatus; audit consists in the novel arrangement andcombination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figured is a perspective view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical middle section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. t is a view of the under sideof the intercepting-disk or the disk immediately above the rotating disk. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing'the toothed segment by v which the rotating disk is actuatedin engagement with the pinion carried bythe. spindle of the latter. Fig; 6 is 'an edge view of the actuating-levers'andsegment shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the parts shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is an elevation of 'the' clutch and pinion mounted on the spindle of the rotating disk, showing the piniojnin engagement with the clutch.- Fig.- 9-is;a horizontal section on -line,9,9,.of;-Eig..8.4 -Fig.,10 is. a View similar to Fig. 8, showing the clutch and pinion disengaged; andFig. llis a horizontal section on line 11 11 of Fig..l0.

The object of my invention is to construct a game apparatus which while primarily subserving a purposeassuch is at the same time a toy and an educational appliance:

follows:

' Referringto the drawings, 1 represents'a cylindrical casing having a bottom 2 and a top wall 3,:the. latter being-depressed a suitable distance below'the upper edgeof the easing and being slightly dish-shaped, as" best seen in Fig. 3.

In detail the invention may be described as The wall 3 constitutes'ithe:

casing and serving as a ledge or shield against the accidental discharge of the play-balls b, presently to be referred to.

Located below the board 3 and contacting therewith is an intercepting-disk 5, freely rotatable about the spindle 6 and carried by a collar 7 on the latter, the outer edge of the disk 5 being provided with an arm 8, passing upwardly and outwardly through a slot 9, formed in-the shield 4, and terminating in 'a knob 10. Like the board 3, the disk 5 is provided with a series of openings 0, adapted when the arm 8 is swung toone end of the slot 9 to aline or fully register with the openings 0 and whenthe disk is swung to bring the arm 8 to the opposite end of the slot 9 to only partially register with the openings 0, those nearer the outer edge of the wall 3 being, in fact, wholly closed, owing to the greater sweep of the disk 5 at points farther removed from'the center of rotation thereof. The spindle 6 is mounted in a bearing 11 at the bottom of the casing and has secured thereto at a'suitable distance below the disk 5 a dish-shaped rotatable disk or ejector 12, which in its rotation is adapted by centrifugal action to force the series of balls 12 toward its periphery, the said balls by their momentum finally passing out of the marginal slots or. openings 13, formed in the .wall 3, into which. they are directed by the 1 guides 13, past the guard-plates 14, secured to the casing, and finally rolling onto the surface of the game-board 3, where they may remain if the disk 5 has been swung to destroy the registry between the openings 0 0 or whencethey may again fallthrough the openjugs 0 0 (if the latter are in perfect alinement) vonto the ejector 12, only to be forced 'outagain by the centrifugal action of the latter. When allowed to fall through, there will be a constant circulation of .the balls from the should the balls be intercepted from falling through and circulating in .the manner-aforesaid they will remain on the'board 3 and there encounter the series of pins 19, or they may land and be deposited in any one of the de-' pressions d or openings 0, each of which is ICC,

have a different-colored ball, (or balls,) and the particular color scoring the highest number of points will be the winner. When allowed to remain on the board, the balls are constantly deflected and impinged upon by a series of depending impactewings 15, carried by a pointer or index-hand A, which rotates with the spindle 6, the wings constantly throwing the balls outwardly or against the edge of the ledge t as they roll toward the center of the dish-shaped board 3. The index-finger of the hand A may be utilized to point toward a series of numbers '12, marked on the ledge 4, the persons playing the game holding cards marked with numbers corresponding to the numbers n, and the particular ordinal toward which the index points at the conclusion of its rotation shall determine the loser of the game-a matter ascertained by the holder of the card bearing the corresponding ordinal.

The mechanism for imparting rotation to the spindle 6 and ejector 12 carried thereby is as follows: Feathered to slide longitudinally along the spindle is one section 16 of a clutch, which is forced into engagement against the opposite section 17 by a spring 18, coiled about the spindle, the section 17 being virtually a pinion and loosely mounted in the spindle and supported thereon by a collar 18, Fig. 6. Mounted loosely on a post 19, carried by the bottom of the casing, are levers 20 21, respectively, the long arms of which project through a peripheral opening 0 of the casing and provided each with terminal plates or handles H, by which the levers may be closed or opened like the blades of a pair of shears. The lever 20 is provided with a short arm or tongue 20, which enters a socket at the base of a toothed segment 22, the upper face of the latter being provided with an inclined groove 22', in which operates the base of a pin 23, carried by the short arm 21' of the lever 21, the upper projecting end of the pin having bearing against it one arm of a spring 24:, coiled about the upper end of the post 19, the other arm of the spring being secured to a peg 25, projecting from the bottom of the casing. Normally the levers 20 21 are open and occupy a position against one end of the opening 0, the segment 22 being disengaged from the pinion 17, it being understood that it is the resilient action of the spring 24 which forces the levers to the position referred to, Fig. 2. By closing the levers the pin 23 describes the arc of a circle; but being constrained in the inclined groove 22 it seeks the base of this incline and in this action draws the segment 22 after itthat is to say, forces it radially outward and into engagement with the teeth of the pinion 17, Fig. 5. The segment being thus in engagement may be swung in the direction indi- NVhere part rotation to the spindle, Figs. 8, 9.

cated by. the arrows in Fig. 5, when it will impart rotation to the pinion, as indicated by thearrows. To impart the necessary rotation to the spindle, the levers are swung to the full limit of the length of the opening and then released. Of course in imparting rotation to the pinion, the latter being in engagement with the clutch-section 16, it will im- The moment the levers are released they fly back to their normal position under the action of the spring 24, and at the same time the segment 22 is retracted to its inner position by the coiled spring 26, whose one end is fixed to a pin 27, carried by the segment, and the opposite to a pin 28, secured to the base of the tongue 20, although the arm of the spring 24, hearing on the pin 23, assists in such restoration, tending, as it does, to force the pin 23 up the incline of the groove 22'. Should the segmdnt 22 not return fast enough to its inner disengaging position after the necessary rotation had been imparted to the spindle 6, (under which circumstances were the pinion 17 tight on the spindle it would either stop the latter or strip the teeth of the pinion,) the pinion will simply slip along the adjacent face of the clutch-section 16, the latter yielding sufficiently to allow for this sudden reversal of the pinions rotation, Fig. 10.

It may be stated in passing that in addition to the intercepting-disk 5 being mounted on the collar 7 it is further coupled to the game-board 3 by means of arms 29 depending from the latter and passing through curved slots 30 of the disk, the parts being further secured by washers 31, held in position by pins 32 passed through the ends of the arms.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a game apparatus, a suitable casing, a game-board, and a rotatable disk located below said game-board and adapted to eject thereon a series of balls by centrifugal action, the game-board being provided with marginal openings for the free passage of said balls, substantially as set forth.

2. In a game apparatus, a suitable casing, a game-board, a rotatable centrifugal ejecting-disk adapted to force a series of balls onto the game-board, the latter having marginal openings for the free passage of the balls, guard-plates disposed interiorly to said openings, and guides disposed along the under surface of the game-board about the marginal openings for guiding the balls therethrough onto the game-board, substantially as set forth.

3. In a game apparatus, a suitable casing, a game-board having openings distributed throughout the body thereof, a rotatable centrifugal ejecting-disk, a rotatable intercepting-disk located between the game-board and ejecting-disk and being provided with openings adapted for one position thereof to register with the openings of the game-board,

and for another position to partially overlap the same, and'means for controlling the intercepting-disk from the outside of the casing, substantially as set forth.

5 4. In a game apparatus, a casing, a gameboard carried by the same, a spindle mounted in the casing, a disk secured to the spindle, a pinion mounted on the spindle, two levers mounted rotatably on a postwithin '10 the casing, and having their long arms projecting through a peripheral opening of the casing, a movable toothed segment carried by the inner arm of one lever, an inclined groove formed on one face of the segment, a

15 pin carried by the inner arm of the second lever and operating in said groove, whereby upon the closing of the lovers the segment is forced into engagement with the pinion, substantially as set forth.

- zo -5. In a game apparatus, a casing, a gameboard carried by the same, a spindle mount ed in the casing, a disk secured to the spindle, a pinion mounted loosely on the spindle, a clutch member feathered to said spindle and cooperating with one face of the pinion, two lovers mounted rotatably on a post within the casing and having their long arms projecting out from a peripheral opening of the casing, a movabletoothed segment car-V ried by the inner arm of one lever, an inclined groove formed on one face of the seg- V ment, a pin carried by the inner arm of the second lever and havingits inner end operating in said groove, a spring coiled about the post and having one end bearing against the opposite end of the pin and thereby normally holding the levers open, and having the opposite end secured to the casing, and a second spring having one end secured to the segment and the opposite end to the base of the lever-arm carrying the same, the parts operating substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presenceof two witnesses.

CHARLES o. soBINs KI.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY. 

